Hey -

The winter festivities start this weekend with the Los Al's Winder Wonderland. There will be free snow play, a skating rink, live entertainment, food, drinks, and of course lighting of the City's tree.

It will be the first of the many "jolly good times" we will have here in the area. And the weather will be great with the high on Saturday projected to be 76 degrees before about a 10 degree drop off for Sunday just in time for the Rossmoor Woman's Club's Holiday Home Tour. Details below.

Rossmoor's Winter Festival takes place the following Saturday (12/14) at Rush Park with more snow and fun for the whole family. 

The Rossmoor Toy Drive for The Youth Center continues through Sunday December 8th - where you can drop an unwrapped gift off in the boxes at the Rossmoor CSD offices, The Meat Company, or Ganahl's during business hours, just make a donation for toys here, or pick from The Youth Center gift list 24 hours a day. 

Interact Gift Giving Drive

The Interact Club at Los Al is looking for a little help for families in need between now and .Tuesday December 10th. 

To support the drive, the are collecting gift cards from popular retailers such as Target, Walmart, Amazon, and Kohl’s, with a preference for cards in $25 increments. These donations will be instrumental in helping the Interact Club make a meaningful impact on the lives of those they serve.
 

If you’d like to contribute:

• Drop-off Option #1: Gift cards can be dropped off at the Los Al District Office (10293 Bloomfield St., Los Alamitos, CA 90720). Please address them to Tina Dingillo, by Tuesday, December 10 by 1PM.
• Drop-off Option #2 Gift cards can be dropped off at the Los Al High School main office in care of Pauline Grimshaw, by Tuesday, December 10 by 1PM.

Your generosity—whether it’s one gift card or several—will make a real difference in brightening the holidays for families in our community.

Thank you for your continued support. Together, we can help make this holiday season a little brighter for those in need.

The Youth Center Tree Lot - 2nd Shipment Arrives

The Youth Center's trees are selling fast and have received their 2nd shipment direct from Oregon. 

That's right, The Youth Center stages their shipments so that those families that don't set up right away still get the freshest trees ever. 

And we forgot to mention: their trees stay fresh and last lonnnnng into the New Year, for those of us who observe The 12 days of cultural and religious traditions of Christmas that end on January 6th - Epiphany. 

So, if you haven't, it's time to head up to Ganahl Lumber and pick up your super fresh tree before the weekend rush. Saturday will be busy all day. Beat the rush and get your tree ASAP! 

Rossmoor Lights Celebration

And our 18 year old tradition of  celebrating the Rossmoor Christmas Lights is in full swing. Dozens of homes are totally decked out already. And nominations are rolling in. 

We need your help! With so many houses getting the holiday treatment, we need you to nominate the very best of the homes you see around the neighborhood. Our judging team can't possible find them all without your help.

Make your nominations here

Each home entry you make is another chance to win one of 7 $50 gift cards to local restaurants. 

After the judging takes place on December 14th & 15th, the annual HotSpot map will be published early the following week so you can take your own tour  of the very best of the best. 

And then, our local BikeRossmoor.org group plans a Bike Lights Tour to cruise by the homes that received the awards on Saturday 12/21 and 12/22 (both nights the tour leaves Rush Park at 6:00). 

Yep, it's a whole "thing" that has evolved over the past 7 years now and keeps getting better every year. Click here for the details and get busy with your decorating!

It's THAT Time of the Year......

It’s time to support the Rossmoor Toy Drive that benefits The Youth Center!

Collection boxes are in place all around town from the Rossmoor CSD offices in Rush Park and The Meat Market in Rossmoor to Ganahl’s and Garage Pilates in Los Al and Bogart’s in Seal Beach there’s a nearby place you can drop off that new, unwrapped toy or gift card for the families The Youth Center will serve this holiday season. 

And of course, you can always stop by The Youth Center during the day to drop off your gifts!

The Toy Drive runs from November 8th through December 7th. 

Want to shop from their gift list on Amazon? Click Here

If you’d rather have the wonderful Youth Center Staff do the shopping for you, you can simply make a donation right from your phone or computer by clicking here Any time of day or night.

RWC Annual Holiday Home Tour 

Looking for holiday decorating ideas mixed 

with a little social holiday fun?

Join the Rossmoor Woman's Club for their annual Rossmoor Holiday Home Tour on Sunday, Dec. 8 from 11 am-4 p.m.

The Rossmoor Woman’s Club has hosted this tour for decades and this year’s tour features five homes decorated with traditional or modern, warm and nostalgic inviting rooms to explore.

One of the Rossmoor homeowners, Tom Gidden, will display a miniature Christmas village he designed with his 27 year collection of Department 56 Original Snow Village Christmas pieces while his wife, Connie, showcases two trees decorated with her 44 year collection of Hallmark ornaments, travel and grandchildren keepsakes.

Another homeowner... (click here to read the rest of the story)

2024 Rossmoor Winter Festival

The 2024 Rossmoor Winter Festival is coming on Saturday, December 14th to Rush Park. There will be snacks, snow, Santa and all sorts of fun. Come join us to welcome in the holiday Season at Rossmoor's Winter Festival from 4 to 9:00 p.m. Stop by the RHA Booth (the white top) to see what goodies we have in store for you. Happy Holidays!!

December's Community Conversation

THURSDAY 12/19!

Our December Community Conversation will be on the topic of minimizing the stress of dementia care during the holidays. The conversation will be led by members of the Alzheimer's Family Center in Huntington Beach and will touch on helpful ways to handle holiday stress while caring for someone with dementia. Learn practical tips to create a calm, enjoyable environment and maintain your well-being during the festive season. This session offers strategies to manage expectations, simplify celebrations, and ensure meaningful moments for everyone involved.

Plan to join us on Thursday, December 19, at 7:00 p.m. in the friendly confines of Bethlehem Lutheran Church at the corner of Katella and Wallingsford here in Rossmoor.

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Level Up! An Exciting New Youth Center Program

Level Up! will quickly empower students to gain social confidence by developing and honing their public speaking and social skills. Designed for students in Grades 5-8, during this 8 week program students will learn speaking and social skills, having a lasting impact for confidently interacting with teachers, future job interviews, and achieving the goals students have set for themselves! 

Up to a 90% scholarship for early registrants - Click here to learn more!
 

Griffin Gazette: Breaking the stigma: The WellSpace's Push for Community Outreach

Los Alamitos High School’s WellSpace team is constantly working to improve campus wellness and community connection, from introducing new aspects within the WellSpace to campus-wide initiatives and much more. The WellSpace fights to erase the stigma between finding help and helping others.

Last month, the WellSpace pushed for Unity Day to be more present within LAHS. On Oct. 16, people practiced inclusion, kindness and acceptance in an effort to prevent bullying in schools nationwide. The WellSpace put together several events for Unity Day to promote the cause to students throughout the month of October for National Bullying Prevention Month. 

The WellSpace offered cyberbullying prevention workshops to teach students how to protect themselves and each other online and to give insight into how actions affect people both positively and negatively. By offering these workshops on a wide scale, the WellSpace urges students to help prevent bullying one person at a time and spread awareness of the increasing dangers of...

Read more here...
 

More HUGS

The Hopkinson Regal Movie Bundel is still available for your gift giving pleasure. We all have one (or two) of those "movie buffs" in our lives. Or maybe you just love the movies. Grab your tickets  from the HUGS page and you'll get a deal PLUS help Hopkinson at the same time. Another win-win-win. Get the details on the fundraiser here. Special is good through December 20th.

Did you see this....

Be Smart - Follow these OCSD Tips

Hey! One of these might be your tree! It's a beautiful day in Oregon - Rossmoor trees don't get any fresher than this -- arriving in time for the 2024 The Youth Center Christmas Tree Lot Fundraiser opened SATURDAY 11/30 - There are no fresher trees and your purchase helps are youth. It's a win-win-win!  See you there. 

The Los Al Unified Wrap Up - 11/17/2024

(Note: Scholl is out this week so no new Wrap Up until Friday 12/6)

Most weeks that school is in session the District's awesome Communications Officer, Nichole Pichardo, puts together the Wrap-Up. It gives you an opportunity to see a quick glimpse of what's happening in our school district each week - in right around 3 minutes. Check it out!

Community Groups & Resources

Our community has a number of great ways for you to engage with your neighbors in hobbies and activities. While these are not RHA groups, they are great resources for you and your family members. Check them out.

• Jigsaw Puzzlers Unit - Peaceful Puzzle Library & Exchange
• Cycling Fun - Bike Rossmoor is the place to go